Perfect Door Hanging - How Long

katoman

I'm quoting to trim a custom new home. HO says he wants it 'perfect' not a hair line gap anywhere, even though it is paint grade poplar.

Here's my specs, I already have my time per door figured, so this is for general knowledge for everyone.

- 1x material to be dressed to size for jamb width, bevelled for cassings, back cut, leading edges chamfered and sanded.
- head jamb to be rabbetted into side jambs, glued and nailed.
- router for 3 hinges per door.
- doors need to be bevelled both sides, routed for hinges, minor sanding, ready for paint.
-jambs to be back primed
-tops and bottom of doors to be shelaced prior to installation
-install doors, with hardware, install door stops
-case doors including backband, glued and nailed to jambs, mitres glued, backband glued and nailed to cassings.
-all material sanded as needed, ready for paint.

These are 8' solid poplar doors, all trim is being custom made.

Let's see what people think, I will post my alloted time later on.

genecarp

116-min----w full mortise---131-min

This is doing the job piecemeal, i would shave 25% off the time by setting up and producing each phase once---all jam work, all sealing and priming, all hardware etc....GMOD

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andy builds

I would shoot for around 6-8 hours per door???

NormW

Warining... "Perfect".... "by the hour", his dime not yours.

I worked as a trim carpenter for 3 years, for a custom millwork company. We built a custom timber frame home, where the customer wanted "perfect". Most of the lumber was cut from the trees on site. They started it in 2000 and last time I checked, they are still building it! Trust me, it ain't perfect... but what a work of art...

I was on it from 2004-2007 full time. I had to go back to taking my own jobs. The money was good, and I couldn't ask for a more interesting job, but I had to make a choice whether to go back on my own, or make more permanent plans. I hear now, they are planning on adding an observatory on the mountain behind the house.... sigh, maybe I should of stayed.

On that house, hanging one of those doors as your describing I'd guess a day easy, possibly two... more if you make a mistake. You will never get "perfect". Try for it, and you'll arrive at "art".

On the job I was on, if you left a gap in your work that a dollar bill would slide into. Someone would slide it in, and leave it there for you to find. At least you could buy yourself a cup of coffee. No one every said a word, the person who got a dollar was generally eating humble pie.

I'd do a test door first, to establish what they mean by "perfect", especially if your bidding... just a warning.

Framer53

Good reply Norm.

Just want to echo, make sure you do a test first to determine what "perfect" is to him.

I personnaly would do the job T&M if they will allow. Then it is what it is!!

WarnerConstInc.

I would have to do it in phases. To do each one and keep walking back and forth to the tools would eat up time and energy.

I think I could average 3 1/2 hours per door, maybe less. I would have to bring 10k in tools but, I wouldn't have to leave the site for any part of it.

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katoman

Interesting, the average time from your 3 posts was just under 4 hrs/door.

Having done this many times, I have a really good knowledge of how long I need to do this. I treat this the same as oak. I would normally carry 4 hrs/door.

But, these are 8' doors, this means I can't move them around and hang them by myself. So I'm adding 1 hr/door.

The job will be T&M, so no real worries, but I still need to come in close to what I tell the HO. Yes, I will do a proto for the HO approval.

Thanks for the input. Curious that the average time was about right on.

Gene - agreed, I do this on a production level, all jambs preped, then routed, then rabbeted, etc. Still at that, it takes me about 4 hrs each.

If the HO goes for it, I'll be sure to post pics and real times.

Leo G

Perfect? There is no such thing as perfect.

Aim for perfection and accept excellence is my motto.

Are the walls perfect? Are the doors perfect? If they are not, how do you expect to end up with a perfect job?

Either way, I figure about 5-6 hours each.

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katoman

I know, Leo, no such thing as perfect. I will use the dollar bill test.

I am insisting on a pre-drywall framing inspection, and have told them I will require blocking between the king and first common studs every two feet to hold these doors.

I am also giving them the option of taping off and mudding out around the jambs before cassing installation, but not absolutely necessary, as this is paint grade. But if they want "perfect" then that's another thing that needs to be done.

We'll see what they say. Apparently, money is no object.

Leo G

Caulk makes everything perfect

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Addon Builders

"Caulk and paint, make a carpenter what he aint"

Burns-Built

Do your best caulk the rest.

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festerized

Perfect Door Hanging - how long
Answer: 12 years and 1/2 an hour

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world llc

i have no experiance in the type of install your quoting, but i would think once i was all set up it would take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.... but i am always way off in my time assumption

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BillD

No comment about the time as I think others have covered it well enough. I would make sure to have the HO sign off on the installs before you leave and the painters get hold of the doors.

A couple of doors placed in the wrong opening can make the best job look like crap, and I've even had problems with hinges being slightly off when the painter did not keep both halves together as they were removed for painting.

Also - I was always told not to make doors from Poplar because it moved too much. I know you are not making the doors but it might be something to consider when writing the contract. Maybe some of the door builders can expand upon this if it is a potential problem.

Bill

Leo G

He is building the (dadoed) jambs, assembling them (glue and screw), mortising the hinges on both the jamb and the door to match, attaching the door to the jamb, hanging the door in the RO, putting on the trim and everything needs to be sanded, primed and caulked.

I would think 1 1/2 hours is a little under estimate indeed.

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Old Grumpy

2+ complete per day. The plus is how much you can get done on the next unit(jamb prep etc.) so some days you get 3. If you can do the work in stages (all jamb prep, all door machining etc.) even on a short run you can save considerable time.
The problem I see with your customers job is the insistance on tight gaps for the door margins. Even if there is zero seasonal wood movement (let alone the absorbtion of moisture from paint and trowel trades) the thickness if the paint itself is a factor. We tend to forget that paint has a third dimension. 1 coat primer+2 coats colour on door and jamb equals 6 coats. Suddenly we're talking about losing on the order of 1/16 or so.
Consistent and even margins are a must.
Another thing to think about is the bevel on the hinge side of the door. By doing this you are in effect opening the hinge slightly and thus increasing the margin gap on that side. Sometimes you want this, sometimes not depending on the gaps down the strike side and across the head.

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